Language Teaching and Learning Research (LTLR) Grants
REEES at the University of Pittsburgh awarded a series of Language Teaching and Learning Research (LTLR) Grants for scholars to conduct research projects on-site or remotely at Pitt's Slavic, East European, and Near Eastern Summer Language Institute (SLI).
Funded projects took advantage of the unique environment and resources available at the SLI to develop online language instructional materials or make other significant contributions to language teaching and learning. Support for LTLR awards was provided by Pitt's University Center for International Studies (UCIS) and the Title VI National Resource Center (NRC) Program of the U.S. Department of Education.
Grantees and Research Reports (2016-2024)
-
Victoria Hasko (University of Georgia) conducted a psycholinguistic eye-tracking study to investigate cognitive and verbal aspects of bilingual processing of temporal, spatial, and motion relations by learners of Russian.
-
Olena Sivachenko (University of Alberta) examined the motivational profiles of students enrolled in domestic and overseas intensive Slavic language courses, while also interviewing language instructors to compare their perspectives with those of the student learners. Download research report.
-
Rachel Stauffer (Independent Scholar) conducted a study of teaching methodology for the presentation and acquisition of Russian second-person pronouns, ty and vy, at the novice level. Download research report.
-
Sergii Gorbachov (University of Alberta) conducted a needs assessment for mobile/web applications and game-based language learning with students and instructors of East European languages. Download research report.
-
Hope Wilson (Ohio State University) conducted a study on the effects of online ethnographic projects on the sociolinguistic learning and intercultural competence of students in an intensive summer Russian language program. Download research report.
-
Frane Karabatic (University of Kansas) developed four online modules on topics of everyday culture in Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian speaking areas and collected data on Elementary BCS students’ performance on communicative tasks after using the modules. Download research report.
- Olga Savchenko (University of Kansas) conducted a study on the effects of teaching gestures on beginning-level learners’ pragmatic comprehension of Russian. Download research report.
- Natalia Sletova (Ohio State University) conducted a study on the effects of second language writing on speaking accuracy, and the incorporation of written texts in a language classroom to improve aural communicative skills. Download research report.
- Bianca Brown (Carnegie Mellon University) examined instructor and student attitudes towards translanguaging practices and how students can utilize their multi-semiotic resources and experiences in learning Turkish.
- Molly Godwin-Jones (University of Kansas) studied the teachability of various kinds of requests in Russian at different proficiency levels and the application of Complexity, Accuracy, and Fluency (CAF) constructs to pragmatic competence.